Standing Outside the Fire
by The Night Lord
Summary: He's looking for vengeance. She's looking to restore her home. Together, these two unlikely allies will battle the forces of evil in order to achieve their goals. Will they succeed or will they fall. A Scorpion and Kitana fic. Please R
1. Princess in Distress

**So, I've been wanting to do this story for a few years now and it's only right now that I've finally got started on it. It's my first ever Mortal Kombat fic (not including x-overs), plus it's my first ever Scorpion/Kitana fic and therefore, I'm a little nervous at how this is going to turn out, so reviews and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated. Also, I'm a little surprised there is not very many Scorpion/Kitana fics...oh well, let's get on with it**

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She was running for her life.

She never liked running. She only saw running as the only option if all else failed. And even when all else had failed before, she never ran. She had even died once before because everything else had failed and she refused to run.

But now, here she was, running for her life, ducking amongst the tree branches and leaping over the roots that intended to send her sprawling to the ground and give her pursuers the time they needed to catch up.

She wasn't running, she tried to tell herself, merely falling back into a better defensive position. Calling it retreating made it sound better than running. Yes, that's it, she was retreating in order to come up with a new plan of attack. Sometimes the best offence is a good defence. And that's what she was planning to do right now. As long as she could get enough time to form a quick offence that would allow her to see another day. Already, she could hear her pursuers gaining on her and she knew that she would have to come up with something fast. Their snarling were echoing throughout the forest, reverberating all around her, closing in on her, overwhelming her.

That put some extra kick into her tired legs and propelled her to run faster, pushing her body to its limits and then past it, dodging around the trees as they groaned and moaned, wearied by their old age, however, she barely gave them a thought, her hands gripping her razor-edged fans tighter to avoid losing hold of them. She would be needing them, for without them, she would be truly defenceless.

A small clearing opened up before her and she came to a stop, knowing that she couldn't run any further. She wasn't going to run anymore. She was going to make her stand right here, no more running. She would fight until the very end and she would give it everything that she had. Win or lose, she was going to go out in style.

She tried to catch her breath, trying to ready herself for the impending battle, but it wasn't long before they arrived, their feral gold eyes glowing in the darkness, their sharp fangs dripping with drool, their blades flashing as they advanced on her, surrounding her, like a pack of wild animals, grinning with sadistic glee. She was surrounded, with no way out and they knew it. She knew it too. She would fight, but the battle wouldn't last very long. It would be over before she knew it.

She closed her eyes, taking in a few deep breaths, going over everything she knew, everything she had learned in her long lifespan, everything that she could use that would help her to increase the odds of her surviving.

She opened her fans, the blades glittering under the moonlight, as the creatures snarled, feeling wary of her, but that soon disappeared when they figured that they had the numbers against her and that they could overwhelm her easily. She was just one. They were many. She assumed a fighter's stance, making it her final stand. The first of the hellish creatures came charging in, slashing with the long blades that grew from his arms, slashing with blinding speed, moving so fast that she just managed to dodge it, losing only a single strand of black hair. Moving just as quick, she swung her right fan, slashing the blade through his exposed torso. It wasn't enough to severely injure him, but enough to make him recoil in shock and she slashed again, this time, splitting his throat open and causing his blood to waterfall from the gash.

Having watched one of their comrades fall so quickly under her blades, the rest of the creatures went into an uproar, all moving towards her at once. She froze for a moment, only a moment, the briefest of moments, but it was enough for them, their blades all slashing at once. She braced herself for the impact, embraced herself for the sudden death that was definitely upon her. She knew, in that instant, her life was over. It was gone now, gone in a flash of organic steel and blood, shredded flesh and bone.

That was until he arrived.

A burst of hellfire, a kunai zipping through the air and he was there, fighting off the beasts with unparallel strength, breaking their bones and crunching their faces, his sword slashing through the air, causing horrific screams of agony to ring throughout the trees. Fire burned and flesh melted, as he terrorised his way through him. Spurned on by his actions, she joined him in combat, regaining her vengeance on her foes. Against these pair, there was nothing the beasts could do, except to bow down and accept an ugly and painful death, which was then quickly granted upon them. Together they fought, back-to-back, taking turns, kunai and fans slashing and slicing until their enemies laid dead around them, their blood soaking into the ground.

That was when she learnt he had been watching her trying to fight them off and although he was going to leave, he had decided to join in and fight them off, although he insisted that he wasn't there to save her life, but rather, have a good fight and let off some steam, figuratively speaking of course.

He was on a mission, although what mission he wouldn't disclose to her, saying it was none of her business, before asking her what she was thinking in taking on a small force of Tarkatans, to which she replied was none of his business. She swore she heard a glimmer of a smirk behind his golden mask. He then snorted and left to clean off and she, wanting company that didn't try to kill her, decided to follow him. He threatened to kill her if she didn't leave him alone immediately, but she shot back saying that she was going to watch his back, just in case a revenge group arrived. Another scoff at her comment and his reply that he didn't need some damsel to watch his back, considering said damsel had been in distress and needed his help. In her defence, she stated that she was trying to split them off and pick them off one by one and that they had made a really good team.

She then went on to say that even though they weren't fond of each other and weren't saying what business they were on, they were a force to be reckoned with when together and that perhaps they could use each other's skills and abilities to complete the missions that the two parties were on. He had pondered this for a moment, before saying that he didn't need any help and that he worked alone, despite the fact that they were indeed a deadly force. However, she kept at it, saying that together, they could defeat the threat invading the realms and that he would be rewarded greatly for his help. Upon hearing that he didn't care about any rewards, she pointed out that they could learn from one other and that the battles would require both of them. At this, he finally relented and agreed to their partnership, but strictly for business reasons.

He then left, leading the way to a small stream that she never knew existed in such a haunting and godforsaken place. Once there, he stripped off to nothing, leaving her shy of such display, but not that he cared about what she thought. To him, it was the one perfect way to clean himself off after a bloody battle. That and skinny-dipping was somewhat relaxing to him and that was such a rare occurrence for him. He even removed his mask, revealing his skull with empty, cold sockets and hair made of flames, burning brightly in the night. He dived into the cool, refreshing water, relishing the rare opportunity to be carefree, his flames now extinguished. She sat under a tree, relaxed but wary at the same time, watching with amusement as he swam about to wash the blood off his body. He then retrieved his clothes and dunked them under the water, watching as the water turned red, not caring that he was showing off his birthday suit to the woman watching him.

Five minutes later and he exited the stream, his toned and chiselled body on display to the princess. She looked away in modesty, as his skull was engulfed in flames once more, his body and clothes getting dried off by his heat and he dressed himself once again, slinging his swords across his back and gruffly telling her to hurry up and keep up, otherwise he would leave her behind. She quickly followed after him, her crystal blue eyes scanning the woods for any threats, while he seemed calm and unafraid of whatever could be lurking out there, as they soon left the Living Forest.

And so, these two unlikely allies began their journey into the unknown together.

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**So, think I should continue or not?**


	2. The Start of Our Partnership

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"So, what's your business?" Kitana asked, "What brings you out here?"

"That is none of your business," Scorpion growled, "How many times do I have to tell you, _princess_?" he said the last word mockingly.

"I figured that if we were to be working together, we might as well tell each other what we're doing. That way, we can work better together."

"I'm not interested in what you have to do, nor should you have any interest in what I do. This is just strictly professional. You watch my back, I watch yours."

Night had fallen and the pair were setting up camp in a small cave amongst the numerous rocky mountains in Outworld. Kitana was currently trying to find the warmest part in the cave, knowing that setting a fire would simply draw any enemies to their location. Nor was she going to complain about the lack of heat. She didn't want to show weakness to Scorpion, who was already viewing her with contempt. She looked over at the spectre, barely able to see him in the darkness, before spotting his silhouette near the opening of the cave, highlighted by the moon. She could see that he was sitting cross-legged, with his head bowed and she knew that he was meditating. Stifling a yawn and knowing she would need a lot of sleep to rest her body for the upcoming battles, Kitana settled into a comfortable niche in the cave and with her eyes on Scorpion, she soon closed them and drifted off to sleep.

Meanwhile, Scorpion listened as Kitana's breathing soon evened out and he knew she was asleep. He paused in his meditating to turn around and look at the princess. She was really lucky he had stumbled upon her battle and decided to step in and save her life. In all honesty, it had been part of his mission to find the princess and protect her life with his own. The Elder Gods had requested that Scorpion made sure Kitana stayed alive and although the spectre had been ready to argue that, the Elder Gods had made it clear to him that he was to do as he was told. Knowing he had no choice, Scorpion had sought the princess out upon his return to Outworld, passing through the Living Forest and coming across her fighting for her life.

He grumbled under his breath, seeing her as a waste of his time. She was only going to slow him down in his mission. He didn't want to have to watch over some spoiled, pampered princess, but he knew he had no choice. Didn't mean he had to like it. Closing his eyes, Scorpion continued on with his meditation for another hour, before soon retiring back inside the cave, his sword by his side as he also went to sleep.

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Kitana slowly opened her eyes and yawned, stretching her arms to relieve tension in them from having slept awkwardly on the dirt floor. She sat up and noticed that Scorpion wasn't in the cave with her. Getting to her feet, she picked up her steel fans and stepped outside the cave, seeing the morning sun on the horizon greeting her. Looking around, she was unable to see any sign of the spectre and ventured further out of the cave, turning a corner and finding him meditating in the darkness, where the sun's rays hadn't reached just yet. Knowing that she shouldn't disturb him in case he stabbed her with his spear, but knowing that they had to keep moving, Kitana decided to wait patiently until he had finished his meditating…until her stomach growled.

"Why don't you go and find something to eat?" Scorpion asked, not breaking his meditation, "You're ruining my concentration with your stomach."

"And here I was, thinking for a second that you cared," Kitana remarked, "I'm guessing you didn't go out and try to find something?"

"It's not my problem. We work together, but that doesn't mean I go out and hunt for you, does it? Now, go and don't get found. I might not be there."

Kitana rolled her eyes and left the ninja to continue his meditating, muttering under her breath about him. Would it actually hurt him to think about someone other than himself? Maybe being dead made him feel like he was exempt from it. Thankfully, she had been trained by her stepfather on how to forage for food should the situation ever arise. Kitana shuddered briefly as her thoughts strayed to Shao Kahn. Everything that had happened was due to him: her father's death, her mother's suicide, the creation of her 'sister', their lives as assassins, the death of her love, Liu Kang (this was due to Kitana believed that Shao Kahn had failed to stop the Deadly Alliance), her own death and the realm's current dilemma, which was the Dragon King, Onaga.

An hour later, she returned to the cave with an armful of small bushes that contained edible berries and a large rodent-like creature. It had been easy to kill, as it had no idea Kitana was there until too late, when her fan slit its throat.

Scorpion looked up with interest when he saw Kitana returning with food, however, he didn't say anything as she began sorting through the bushes, picking out the ripest berries and eating them, however, he did create a small fire for her so she could cook the rodent and even joined her in eating parts of it. Once breakfast was done, the two set out again, walking across the wide open plains of Outworld, walking at a distance from one another, but staying within speaking range, although they didn't talk much. Scorpion wasn't interested in talking and Kitana knew that, so she kept quiet, preferring to focus her thoughts on what she had to do. She was faced with the impossible task of freeing her mother and her friend from the clutches of the Dragon King, knowing that he would have the whole Tarkatan army under his command and she hoped that Scorpion would still be by her side, as she knew she would be needing his help in fighting Onaga, which was part of the reason why she offered an alliance.

Scorpion, meanwhile, was focusing his mind on the upcoming fight with the Dragon King. He knew he would be needing Kitana's help in fighting Onaga. There was also the matter of Quan Chi, Moloch and Drahmin. He wanted to kill every one of them and figured that with his enhanced strength, they shouldn't be too difficult, but just as a precaution, he would like to have Kitana by his side, in case he became too injured to face the Dragon King. However, he knew he would have to kill Onaga alone, as it was the mission given to him by the Elder Gods. While Scorpion had no interest in the fate of the realms, he knew that his status as a spectre would enable him to have an upper hand over Earth's warriors, which was probably why the Elder Gods had chosen him with this task. That and also because he had asked for the resurrection of his entire clan, including his wife and son, as payment for killing Onaga, although the Gods had irritatingly thrown in the side-mission to protect Kitana from harm, though why, he had no single clue, but it wasn't like he cared very much either.

As they walked across the plains, Scorpion had a feeling that someone was watching them. And it was a feeling he didn't like at all.

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Reptile made sure he stayed several feet away from the pair as they walked across the plains. Even though he was currently invisible, he knew that the spectre had extraordinary senses and didn't want to do anything that would attract the ninja's attention and invoke his wrath. Apparently, Scorpion was downright vicious and brutal when he was angry. So to avoid that, Reptile made sure he kept his pace up at the same speed as the ninja to avoid suspicion and whenever the pair stopped, he stopped with them. He thought it was quite by luck that he was here now, spying on the pair. When Kitana had fled from the Dragon King, he had been tasked with the job of hunting her down and bringing her back. That said, he decided not to intervene when Baraka and his forces went after the princess, preferring to hang back and see what would happen. To his surprise, Scorpion had come to Kitana's aid and after they slaughtered the Tarkatans, they had formed an alliance. While he had been tempted to run off back to the Dragon King and report his findings, Reptile decided it was best that he just waited until it was the right time to strike. He thought he had a chance the previous night, but due to Scorpion only staying asleep for five minutes at a time, being a light sleeper and that he was awake for most of the night made it difficult for the reptilian warrior. But he could bide his time. He was patient enough.

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**Yeah, I didn't realised until I had nearly finished writing it that Reptile was currently being possessed by Onaga. And when I did realise, I saw Reptile as the only possible person who could be following them safely. So Reptile and Onaga are separate beings in this. It's fanfiction, I can bend the rules a little bit**


	3. Encounter with Reptile

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"How exactly are we going to storm Onaga's castle?"

Scorpion blinked and looked up from his meditation at the questioning princess.

"What gives you that idea?" he growled.

"Because that's the direction we're both going in," Kitana replied, "I know I have business there. Don't know why you do, but you're going in the same direction."

"So? I just might be enjoying the walk. Don't know about the company involved."

Kitana scoffed, "Oh please. You're either off to kill Onaga or join him."

"I am not going to join Onaga. I have no interest in that overgrown lizard. I have other interests and they're simply in that direction."

"If it's Quan Chi, well, I hate to disappoint you, but he's dead."

"How do you know about the business I have with Quan Chi?" Scorpion bristled.

"Sub Zero," Kitana replied casually with a simple shrug.

She was practising her kata, as Scorpion growled under his breath, before returning to his meditation. They had been walking for hours and decided to take a break. Well, Kitana wanted to. Scorpion didn't want to, but he obliged after a small argument. He was seriously contemplating walking off and leaving the princess to fend for herself, but he knew the Elder Gods wouldn't be pleased and hold their end of the bargain. He didn't like that they were sitting out in the open, vulnerable to attack, but he was sick of arguing with Kitana already and allowed a five minute break. The princess finished her kata and looked around the vast plains with hands on hips.

"Wow, it's so massive. It'll take us about a day to get there."

"Oh wonderful," Scorpion muttered darkly, "Well, enough with the sitting around. If it's going to take us a long time, then we better get started on it."

He got up from his sitting position and stretched his legs, before picking up his swords and slinging them across his walk as he started walking. Kitana soon joined him and they continued walking in silence. However, as they continued their journey, Scorpion couldn't help the feeling that they were being followed and it was irritating him. After an hour of walking, he changed course, heading towards the mountains. Puzzled at his sudden change of direction, Kitana stopped and he turned around when he realized that she wasn't following him.

"What?" he growled.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"I've got a feeling that we're being followed. Now come on."

Scorpion quickened his pace, heading towards the mountains in the west, as Kitana matched his pace, soon power-walking alongside him. Within an hour, they had reached the mountains and were now making their cautious path along the rocky edges. Kitana looked down warily at the rivers of lava beneath them, knowing that one misstep would send her plunging to her death below. Just to reinforce it, her foot slipped on a small rock and she fell from the narrow path, her hands clawing at nothing, her body lurching towards the lava and she closed her eyes.

She opened her eyes when she felt that she wasn't falling and look up at the angry white eyes of the yellow clad ninja. He was holding her by her left arm with one hand, dangling her over the lava. He wasn't pulling her up in a hurry and she briefly thought that he was going to let her go, but then he groaned and pulled her back up onto the edge. She leaned back against the rock wall, breathing heavily at how close she just come to falling to her death.

"Next time, watch your step," Scorpion growled, "Or I'll let you fall."

"I was," Kitana shot back, "And thank you."

Scorpion grunted and made his way around the mountain edge, before coming to a bridge made completely of rock that connected to a larger mountain. He started on the bridge, making it across and waiting impatiently for Kitana to cross. She was taking it slow due to her near miss, although she knew she should hurry up. Scorpion had a short temper and he wasn't going to stand around all day and wait for her.

"Kitana, behind you!" Scorpion suddenly shouted.

She turned around, just as a scaled fist clocked her in the jaw, knocking her down. She scrambled to cling on to the bridge, before looking up at her attacker.

"Hello, princesssss," Reptile hissed, "Ssso good to sssee you."

A burst of flames and Scorpion was behind Reptile, grabbing him by the shoulders and driving his knee into the reptilian warrior's back. Reptile hissed, before using his tail to strike Scorpion in the right knee, forcing the ninja to let him go. Whirling around, Reptile struck Scorpion in the jaw, getting some distance between them, before spitting a ball of acid upon the ninja, melting the front of his armour.

"You know, Reptile, it was a bad idea to try and fight us both," Kitana said, now back on her feet, "Even against one of us, you don't stand a chance."

"If I had known just how protective Ssscorpion wasss of you, I would have knocked you into the lava much quicker," Reptile growled, "I assumed he would stand back and watch you fight on your own."

"You assumed wrong."

Reptile whirled around, just as a sword was plunged into his chest. He gasped, green blood running from the corners of his mouth, as Scorpion then kicked him off the blade. The reptilian warrior staggered and fell to his knees, one hand on the wound.

"If you kill me, the Dragon King will dessstroy you, Ssscorpion," Reptile said, "Oh yesss, he will."

"Good."

With a spinning kick, Scorpion struck Reptile in the head and knocked him off the bridge, sending him plummeting to the lava river below. Smiling satisfyingly to himself, Scorpion walked past Kitana and continued on. She snapped out of her daze and hurried after him, catching up with him as he rounded the mountain.

"Why did you step in instead of letting me fight Reptile on my own?" she asked.

"Because I don't like Reptile and wanted to kill him myself," Scorpion replied.

"No, because any other time, you would have stood back. Why'd you step in?"

"Why are you being insistent on the matter, _princess_?"

"Just answer the question, Scorpion."

"Make me."

Kitana sighed and rolled her eyes. He was being very frustrating. Now she was wondering why she had even decided to ally herself with the ninja, but after remembering how he had disposed of Reptile, she figured it was a good thing that Scorpion was on her side. Even if it was temporary.

"Fine, whatever makes you happy," she retorted under her breath.

Scorpion didn't answer her as he started climbing one of the mountains. She followed after him, climbing across the mountains for most of the day and soon, they reached a small cave, just as the sun was setting. Scorpion clicked his fingers, creating a small flame on his index finger, as he used it as a light source to view their temporary resting ground, seeing that it had space for at least one person.

"We will stay here for the night," Scorpion said, "Then tomorrow, we will reach the Dragon King's temple, if we push hard for it."

"And what then?" Kitana asked, "If we're walking for most of the day tomorrow, we won't have the strength to face him and that's what we'll need."

"Not to fear, princess. It's only a three hour walk from here. We're resting now to regain our strength for tomorrow."

"You think it's a good idea to be taking on Onaga with just the two of us?"

"I'll be taking on Onaga. As for you, well, you'll be doing whatever it is that you've got planned. But we will need each other to lessen the Tarkatans."

"Oh boy, not that again," Kitana muttered, "It wasn't fun last time."

"Besides, wouldn't your stupid Earth friends be there?" Scorpion asked, "They always seem willing to go out and get themselves killed."

"They're the bravest warriors that I know," Kitana snapped angrily.

"Brave, but stupid. That's why you all died last time."

"How did you know about that?"

"I have my sources. Now rest, woman, cause you'll need it."

He left the cave, as Kitana grumbled and settled herself down on the dirt floor. It wasn't all that comfortable, but it had to do. She looked outside the cave, barely seeing Scorpion's profile standing near the entrance of the cave and she knew that he was keeping watch over her. She wondered if he ever slept, before closing her eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep. Meanwhile, Scorpion stood guard outside the cave, watching as Kitana slowly went to sleep. He was in need of rest as well, but he didn't need it as much as she did. Plus, he wanted to make sure that Reptile was the only one who had been following them, so he walked away from the cave, heading over to another mountain and settling down, watching the cave he left Kitana in.

Meanwhile, on the crest of a nearby mountain, the sorcerer Quan Chi watched Scorpion settle down into a defensive position, ready to defend the Edenian princess if the time came for it. The sorcerer contemplated attacking Kitana, but knew that he succeeded in killing her, he would have to get past Scorpion and he knew that he wasn't at his full power just yet, having used the last of it to teleport away from Raiden's suicidal explosion on the Dragon King.

In the end, Quan Chi decided to leave the pair's fate to the Dragon King and left. If they survived, there would be another chance to strike against them.

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	4. The Battle Arena

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Kitana slowly opened her eyes, feeling something warm beneath her and looked up, recoiling in shock when she saw that she had been lying up against Scorpion, however, his eyes didn't open upon her sudden movement. Then, she remembered that Scorpion had entered the cave and faced with the very limited amount of space, she saw no choice but to curl up against the ninja as he sat against the wall. While it hadn't been exactly comfortable, she had fallen asleep really quickly. Now, she was sitting as far away from the ninja she could get, which in the small cave, wasn't very far. She didn't like the idea that she had slept comfortably curled up against him.

"I don't know why you're so worried. You hardly complained last night."

Kitana looked up at Scorpion's face, seeing that he was awake and looking at her with amused interest. She huffed and got to her feet, dusting herself off.

"Only because there was no point. Doesn't mean I liked doing it."

Scorpion stretched his limbs, before getting up and leaving the cave, as Kitana joined him. Together, they began the descent, before continuing their journey, walking amongst volcanoes until they reached the plains once again and Kitana was able to see the stronghold in the distance. She wondered if she was ready to face the Dragon King or if it was too soon to be facing him, but she knew she had no choice. She had to enter that place and free her mother and best friend from their captivity. On the bright side of things, at least she had Scorpion on her side.

After a few more hours of walking, they soon reached the massive stronghold and quickly took out the Seidon guards, as Scorpion then cupped his hands and held them low. Kitana placed her right foot in his hands and rested her hands on his shoulders to balance herself, as he launched her into the air. She landed on top of the wall, as Scorpion quickly joined her and together, they jumped down into the battle grounds. It was mostly dirt, with a wooden platform in the centre and several spiked columns placed around the area. In one corner was a pool of acid, another was a pool of lava, the third corner was a pit full of upright spears and the fourth corner had two rows of three gigantic gears running around together. Kitana shuddered as she thought about the various ways people could be killed here, before coming up with ways to utilize them in the best ways she could.

"Someone's coming," Scorpion said, "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, I'm ready," Kitana replied, flicking open her steel fans.

The gate on the far end leading into the castle was opening up and a large, hulkering figure soon stepped out, joined by a smaller, slimmer person. The centaur/satyr Motaro stretched his arms and cracked his neck, as Tanya smiled at the pair.

"Well, well, isn't this an unlikely couple?" she said amusedly, "It's like one of those terrible buddy-cop movies I had the displeasure of seeing."

"Tanya, why am I not surprised to see you here?" Kitana said.

"You were lucky to escape from the Dragon King before. I don't know why you came crawling back. You looking to die again?"

"Oh, enough with the useless banter," Scorpion growled, "Let's just fight."

"You know, I was going to ask if we were," Motaro said, "Scorpion, it's so good to see you once again. Let's see if I can hand your ass to you again."

"What did I just say?"

Motaro disappeared in a cloud of green smoke, reappearing behind Scorpion and delivering a blow to the ninja's back that sent him sprawling to the ground. Kitana whirled around and slashed with her fans, drawing blood on his forearms when he blocked. Motaro then brought his fists down overhead, as Kitana quickly darted out of the way, however, she had her legs knocked out from underneath her when Tanya did her corkscrew drill move. Kitana rolled back onto her feet, as Scorpion got to his feet and turned around while grumbling under his breath.

"Okay, Motaro, let's take care of these freaks," Tanya smirked.

She lunged at Kitana, punching the princess in the face, as Motaro dodged Scorpion's throat strike and twisted around, delivering a mule-like kick to Scorpion's chest, knocking the ninja into the air, then hitting him with a shoulder charge as he fell. Rolling back onto his feet from the blow, Scorpion waited until Motaro was nearly upon him before launching into a backflip, kicking Motaro with flames coming from his boots. Landing, Scorpion raised his hands, summoning hellfire from beneath Motaro, causing him to cry out as he was burned.

Tanya dodged a fan, before ducking under the other fan and doing a forward flip kick that struck Kitana on the top of her head and knocked her to the ground. Picking the princess up, Tanya slammed her forehead against Kitana's, then kicked her in the stomach. Kitana staggered back, but regained her stance and threw her left fan at the traitor. It caught her in the chest, slicing into her flesh and spraying blood, before dropping to the ground. Tanya stumbled, clutching at the wound on her chest, as Kitana ran in and picked the fan up, before whirling around and slashing at her head. However, Tanya leapt up above the blades and pressed her palms together, shooting a small fireball that Kitana deflected, before landing and dodging the fans again.

One of the columns shattered when Scorpion smashed through it and he grabbed his sword, whirling around to stab Motaro through the abdomen, however, it didn't slow the former centaur down, as he grabbed Scorpion by the throat and threw him aside, then fired a green projectile from his metallic tail. Scorpion teleported behind Motaro in a flash of flames, kicking him in the back of the neck. Motaro whirled around, swinging his fist, but Scorpion ducked, before catching a blow to the stomach that knocked him back. Motaro followed through with a kick that threw the ninja onto his back and stomped over to him, picking him up with one hand, while driving the other fist into Scorpion's stomach once again. The ninja kicked him in the face, breaking out of his grip, then surrounded his body with a ring of fire, preventing the former centaur from reaching him unless he wanted to get burnt again.

Tanya blocked Kitana's arm and kneed her in the stomach, as Kitana waved her fans together, creating a wave of energy that lifted Tanya up into the air and held her there suspended. Moving quickly, Kitana leapt up, delivering four blows to the traitor that knocked her towards the spear pit. Seeing where she was and how close she was to it, Tanya started to come up with a way that would allow her to get around her opponent and shove her onto a spear instead. As Kitana came at her, Tanya held her ground, ready to move aside at the last minute and send the princess to her impalement. However, Kitana simply threw her fan once again. Dodging it, Tanya realised her mistake too late, as Kitana placed one foot in her stomach and did a quick backflip that knocked Tanya into the pit, one of the spears impaling her through the torso. Tanya squealed, blood spurting from the wound, as she slid further down the spear, until her entire body went limp, blood coating the entire spear's length.

Meanwhile, Scorpion used both hands to catch Motaro's overhead blow, before stepping back, then swinging his entire body downwards so that he kicked Motaro's legs out from underneath him, while throwing the former centaur overhead. Motaro and Scorpion both got to their feet, as the former charged, knocking the latter down. Kitana joined in, slicing upwards with both fans. Motaro growled in annoyance as his blood splattered on the ground. Scorpion got to his feet and teleported behind Motaro with an uppercut, knocking him in the air, then teleporting in front of Motaro just as quickly, delivering another uppercut that knocked the former centaur into the gears. It seized as it tried to rotate around the foreign object, while Motaro was howling in pain, the gears crushing his body and splattering blood. Finally, the strength of the gears was too much and they crushed Motaro completely, leaving nothing but a massive splatter of blood as they quickly resumed their normal speed.

"Well, that takes care of them," Kitana said, "Come on."

Scorpion picked up the Mugai Ryu and sheathed it, before following after the princess as they entered the castle, soon entering the massive war room, where the majority of the floor was covered in a gigantic map of Outworld. Several guards arrived to take care of the intruders, but fighting together, Scorpion and Kitana made very short work of them, as they left the war room and came to a flight of stairs in the middle of a large hall, with corridors branching off from the centre.

"Well, that's the way I have to go," Kitana said, "I imagine you're not coming?"

"No. I have other things to take care of," Scorpion said, "Don't get caught."

Kitana rolled her eyes and turned to leave, but a calm voice stopped her.

"Actually, neither of you two are going anywhere."

They looked up as a warrior leapt off the small balcony above the stairs and landed before them, before standing to his full height. Reiko smirked as he looked between the two ninjas.

"You two are trespassing and therefore must die."

"Too bad I'm already dead and the only person dying here is you," Scorpion said.

Reiko gave him a small nod and a mock, curt bow, before turning to the princess.

"And don't think about running off, Kitana. The Dragon King would gladly like to see you. Why don't you hang around?"

"Gee, how can I resist," Kitana said sarcastically, "Alright, Reiko, you're on."

"This is going to be enjoyable," Reiko smiled.

-SKSKSKSKSKSKSK-


	5. Round One

-SKSKSKSKSKSKSK-

Quick as a flash, Reiko threw several shurikens at Scorpion. He deflected them with his sword, as Reiko moved towards Kitana, kicking her in the stomach. Scorpion lashed out with his sword, but Reiko dodged and smacked Scorpion in the face, then kicked him in the chest, as Kitana came in with a blow to Reiko's jaw. He staggered back, as a kunai stabbed into his chest and he was pulled over to Scorpion, who grabbed his shoulders and kneed him in the stomach, launching into the air. Kitana leapt up and delivered three blows to Reiko's torso, the third blow knocking Reiko back to the ground, as Kitana landed beside Scorpion. Reiko groaned as he got to his feet and assumed his stance. Scorpion moved first, but Reiko disappeared, reappearing behind the ninja and grabbing him around the waist, then bending over backwards and dropping the ninja to the ground. Kitana kicked, but Reiko grabbed her leg and threw her aside, before sliding Scorpion along the ground with a kick.

Kitana threw one of her fans, which Reiko narrowly dodged, blood running from a cut on his right arm. Scorpion flipped up onto his feet, teleporting close to Reiko and delivering an uppercut to his jaw, launching him into the air, then throwing his kunai, hooking it in Reiko's chest and pulling him down to deliver a kick to his torso. Reiko got up, doing his cartwheel kick, as Kitana then moved in, slashing with both fans and flipping Reiko onto his face. He didn't move again, blood pooling around him, as Scorpion grunted while getting to his feet.

"You better hurry and free Sindel. Then, you get out of here."

"Why? You'll need my help against Onaga," Kitana said.

"No I don't," Scorpion growled, "I can handle him on my own."

"Yeah right. You need my help, Scorpion; you can't fight him on your own."

"Yeah right. You'll just get in my way."

"Well, someone obviously wants to play the hero."

"And you won't be playing the damsel in distress. Now go!"

"Fine!"

Kitana stormed off, as Scorpion growled under his breath, before walking away, making his way towards the throne room where he knew Onaga would be located. A few guards came his way, but Scorpion make quick work of them and continued on, walking about through the maze of hallways, until he finally came to a massive set of heavy wooden doors. He placed his fists against the doors and shoved them open, before walking into the massive throne room, as Onaga turned around. The mighty Dragon King was flanked by a small force of Tarkatans.

"Scorpion, correct?" Onaga asked.

"Let's not start with any talking," Scorpion growled, "I'm here only for one reason and that is to challenge you to Mortal Kombat!"

"I see. Very well then, if you wish."

-SKSKSKSKSKSKSK-

Kitana made her way through the halls, knowing the direction to the dungeons. A few guards did try to stop her, but they fell before her fans, as she soon reached the dungeons. A large guard with a massive hammer stood in her way though and tried to attack her, however, he quickly fell to her fans, as Kitana then stole the keys and used them to open first her mother's cell and then Jade's cell.

"About time," Jade muttered, "You have any idea what it was like here?"

"Yes, I do actually," Kitana said, "Onaga's former slave, remember?"

"Oh yeah."

"What's the plan?" Sindel asked her daughter, "Are the others here?"

"No. The plan is to free you guys and get out of here," Kitana said, "The Dragon King doesn't know we're here, so it's best we go while we can."

"Well, where is everyone else?" the queen continued, "Why are they not here?"

"Hopefully, not here," the princess replied, "When we were escaping, we split up and I can only assume that they got away safely. Now come on, we must go."

"Well, how did you get in here?" Jade asked, "Surely not on your own?"

"No, I didn't and that person is currently trying to distract everyone else from finding us down here, so let's get going. Stop with the questions. Ask them later."

Sindel nodded and held out her hands so Kitana could free them from the cuffs. She did the same with Jade, as the queen then started speaking in her native tongue, waving her hands about, as purple swirls of magic appeared, forming together to create a large portal. Kitana could see an image of her homeland and for a moment, she was caught by the desire to return home, but she knew she couldn't. Not yet.

"Hurry up and go, before they search for us down here," Kitana said.

"Are you coming with us?" Sindel asked.

"I can't. Not yet. Now go, Mother."

Sindel nodded and stepped through the portal, as Jade gave her best friend a look, before following after the queen, as the portal closed up behind her. Kitana sighed and left the dungeons, as a group of guards arrived, but they stopped before her and parted, allowing Reiko to make his way to the princess.

"If you surrender now, I will allow the Dragon King to decide your fate," the general said in a calm, collected voice, "If you choose to refuse, well," he trailed off.

Kitana simply held up her hands, knowing it was the only she could get to Scorpion right now without running the risk of being injured. Reiko chuckled to himself as he placed the cuffs around Kitana's wrists, before leading the princess to the throne room, where Onaga was standing in the centre, holding a beaten Scorpion in one hand, as he looked at the arrival and smiled when he saw Kitana.

"So, Scorpion, was this your back-up?" Onaga asked, "A captured princess?"

The Dragon King barely had a single mark to show for his troubles, while the spectre looked as if he had been beaten to within an inch of his life. Blood dripped from the numerous cuts on his body, while his white eyes were rolling back into his head. Onaga sneered and tossed the spectre to the ground, looking disgusted at having Scorpion's blood on his very being, then looked back at Kitana.

"Now, what shall we do with you, princess?"

Kitana shrugged and looped her handcuffs' chain around Reiko's neck, before kneeing him in the back, then grabbing the keys to the cuffs, as the guards moved for her. She cracked one guard in the jaw with both fists, whilst kicking another guard and unlocking her cuffs at the same time, striking a third guard. Grabbing her fans, Kitana sliced and diced her way out of the guards and ran towards Onaga. He grinned, readying himself for the fight, but at the last minute, Kitana disappeared in a cloud of blue smoke, reappearing beside Scorpion, as a portal opened up behind them. Onaga growled and moved for them, but Kitana managed to drag Scorpion through the portal, as it closed up behind them.

-SKSKSKSKSKSKSK-

Upon arriving in Edenia, Queen Sindel and Jade headed towards the palace, where they were stopped by a few guards, however, they let the pair through after Sindel threatened to have them killed and demanded to know why she was being refused entry to her own palace. After being told that Princess Kitana was in command, Sindel and Jade were allowed through and entered the palace, making their way to the throne room, where they found someone sitting on the throne, dressed in revealing pink garb.

"Mileena, right?" Jade said with distaste, "Should have known."

"Look, Ma, now I'm ruler of Edenia," Mileena said to Sindel mockingly, "Top of the world here. Oh, it's great. Now I know why you love it so much."

"Back away from the throne and I may let you go peacefully," Sindel threatened.

Mileena scoffed, "Just try and make me, old woman."

Her sais fell out of her sleeves and into her hands, as Sindel and Jade moved at the same time. Mileena snarled, slashing with her sais, moving with blinding speed, however, against two very seasoned warriors, it wasn't enough. The Tarkatan hybrid was able to hold her own for a moment, even drawing blood on both Jade and Sindel, until the two Edenians finally managed to overwhelm the clone, disarming her of her weapons, as Jade then broke Mileena's right arm with a vicious twist. Mileena howled and staggered back, clutching at her broken arm, as Sindel sat on her throne.

"Now, get out of my sight before I change my mind about letting you leave."

"This isn't over, Sindel," Mileena snarled, "Just you wait, I'll be back and you'll be sorry for letting me go."

"Oh, I can hardly wait. Now be gone from my sight."

The clone left the palace, as a moment later, a portal opened up in the throne room, depositing Kitana and an unconscious Scorpion on the floor, before closing up. Kitana looked up from the spectre at her mother, who looked at Scorpion with interest.

"He needs help," the princess said.

-SKSKSKSKSKSKSK-


	6. Recovering in Edenia

-SKSKSKSKSKSKSK-

A few days had passed since Sindel and Jade had been freed from Onaga's clutches, as well as Scorpion's failed attempt on the Dragon King's life. Although he had been beaten unconscious, Scorpion soon woke up not long after arriving in Edenia. However, he had woken up in a rage and took down several guards and Jade, before being placated by Kitana. Since then, he had become quiet and withdrawn, barely seen at the palace, as he spent most of his days down near the lake. Kitana had followed him the first day when he had disappeared and found him at the waterfall, standing waist deep naked in the lake. But what was most surprising was that when Scorpion removed his mask, she had been expecting to see his flaming skull, not actual skin and hair, although his eyes remained completely white. His human face had black hair slicked back and a small, well-trimmed beard and she had to admit to herself that he was quite good-looking, even moreso than Liu Kang. And also, Kitana felt that seeing Scorpion like this was something very special and that she felt privileged to have witness this human look of his. And for the next three days, she had sat in her hiding spot, watching Scorpion as he stood in the water with his head bowed, staring at the water. She didn't know what he was up to exactly, but she figured that whatever it was, he had wanted to be alone. It was too bad that she couldn't leave him alone and that was how she got found out on the fourth day.

"I know you're there, princess," Scorpion growled, "Why not come out?"

Kitana rose up and made her way down to the bank. While she was still dressed in her normal ninja garb, she wasn't wearing her mask or boots, opting for small shoes instead, as she sat down on the bank, as the spectre faced her with angry eyes.

"So, you've been enjoying yourself?" Scorpion asked, "Spying on me?"

"Just seeing where you were," Kitana replied, "would hate it if we were to lose you and you went back to Outworld to seek revenge on Onaga."

"Why would I do that? I was foolish trying to seek him out the first time."

"Yeah, tell me why's that. Why did you try and take on Onaga anyway?"

"You wouldn't understand, woman."

Kitana leaned back against the soft green grass, resting on her elbows as she crossed her legs over.

"Try me," she said.

"When I attempt to track down Quan Chi, I was ambushed and thrown into the Soulnado," Scorpion explained, "However, I managed to escape and ended up in the Void. There, I witnessed everything. Raiden's sacrifice and Onaga's conquest."

He left the crystal blue lake, using hellfire to dry off his body and once again, not caring that his entire nude body was on display to the princess. He didn't care of modesty much, but he still put his pants on, before sitting down with his back to the large tree that was nearby, as Kitana swivelled around to face him, interested in hearing his story.

"The Elder Gods offered me a deal: if I were to kill Onaga, I would have my entire clan resurrected. I agreed and the Elder Gods granted me great power, turning me into their Champion. That is why I was going after Onaga. I was convinced I could defeat him. And for a moment, I thought I could."

"But he ended up beating you, right?" Kitana said.

"For some reason, I couldn't inflict much damage to him," Scorpion said, "It was like he was invincible. Oh sure, my powers were indeed enhanced, but for some reason, even they weren't enough against him."

"Well, he can't be all that powerful. He must have some sort of weakness. I mean, Shao Kahn was able to kill him, but I doubt we could slip him some poison."

"There must be something else that Elder Gods didn't tell me about," Scorpion muttered, "But why wouldn't they tell me if there was?"

"Don't worry, we'll think of something," Kitana said, "I'll call in to the Earthrealm and see if everyone there is okay. But we've got to do something before Onaga starts making his move towards Earth."

"I have been trying to figure that out for the last four days," Scorpion said, "And I cannot come up with any reason why I couldn't defeat Onaga."

Kitana simply sat there for a moment, thinking his words over, before looking up at his human face. The question was on her tongue, but she wasn't sure if she should ask or not, not wanting to invoke his anger.

"Why do you have a human face?" she asked, "I thought it was a skull."

"It is. But there are times where I can possess a human face," Scorpion replied, "This is what I looked like before I died."

The spectre got to his feet and put his shirt back on, but tucked the top of his mask into his belt, before heading back towards the palace. Kitana got up and followed after him, as he walked into the training grounds and slowly started his kata. Figuring she had nothing better to do, Kitana started to do the same.

"Why won't you leave me alone, woman?" Scorpion growled, "You have been hovering around me this entire time and you won't leave me alone."

"Hey, I need to train too, you know," Kitana said, before coming up with an idea, "You know, you need an outlet for all that anger. Why not fight me?"

Scorpion rolled his eyes.

"Only if you're looking to die."

"Well, not a fight to the death obviously. But a fight nonetheless."

"Very well, princess, you're on."

Both Scorpion and Kitana assumed their fighting stances across from each other. The princess was the first to attack, as the spectre blocked her blows, before launching his own assault. Kitana dodged and ducked, countering his attacks with her own, as he parried her blows and moved around, trying to get through her defences, but Kitana wasn't leaving any open, but neither was Scorpion. Although he was stronger, she was faster, but despite that, they seemed to very well matched in their sparring, trading blow for blow, parrying and blocking as they fought each other.

"They are very well matched," Sindel noted, watching the pair from a distance, "They're unable to land a decisive blow on one another. It's like they fit together."

"That's a little disturbing," Jade commented, "They even seem more well-matched then Kitana and Liu Kang. He could always beat her."

"It's like she's found someone on a more common ground in terms of combat," Sindel said, "And I can see there's something there. Mutual respect perhaps?"

"From Scorpion?" Jade scoffed, "The guy only cares about himself and no one else. You can't rely on him. Too shifty."

"Maybe, but Kitana did tell me that he tried to fight Onaga. If he fights only for himself, why would he try to battle Onaga? There's more to him than you think."

"Yeah, well, we'll see on that," Jade said, "I'm going to train."

She left the room, as the queen turned back to the spectacle below. Her daughter and the spectre were still sparring with each other and while she would have liked to continue watching, she had other matters to deal with and so, she turned away, walking back through the room and out into the halls.

-SKSKSKSKSKSKSK-

Two hours later and the pair finally finished their spar. Kitana sighed and headed over to the towel rack to wipe the sweat away from her face, before looking over at Scorpion, who was going through a kata in order to unwind from the fight. Watching the spectre, Kitana found it interesting at how well matched they were with each other. It seemed as if they could almost anticipate each other's moves, despite having never fought each other before. Thinking it was only coincidence, she left the training grounds to take a shower and unwind from the sparring session.

As she stood in the shower, washing all the sweat and dirt away, Kitana allowed her thoughts to drift back to her friends. She hadn't seen them since escaping from Onaga, but she had a feeling that they were all doing fine. She didn't see them at the stronghold when she freed her mother and friend, nor did Onaga make any mention of having anything to do with them. She hoped that they had escaped back to Earth and were planning a counterattack against the Dragon King. Then, she thought about Liu Kang. When she had last seen him, he was a ghost, readying to track down his violent corpse and stop the carnage his body was causing. She had heard no word of him since then and prayed that he had managed to subdue his corpse. Tomorrow, she decided, she would travel to Earth and hopefully meet up with everyone there. She wondered about taking Scorpion with her, since he was indeed the Champion, but knew that everyone else, especially Sub Zero, were all wary about the spectre.

"_They'll have to deal,"_ Kitana thought, _"He's on our side here."_

Getting out of the shower, Kitana headed to her room and got dressed in a tank top and mini denim shorts, before wandering the hallways in search of her best friend, finding her outside in the small pergola, where she was engaged in a game of chess with Scorpion. The spectre still wore his human face and was wearing only a pair of black track pants with a red Eastern dragon embroided on the sides.

"Oh hey, Kitana," Jade said, "We're just finishing up here. Good thing too, because Scorpion has been kicking my ass at this game."

"I was the best chess player in my clan," Scorpion told the princess, "No one could beat me. And Jade here foolishly challenged me to a few games for a price."

Kitana noticed the small pile of coins on Scorpion's side of the board and smirked at her best friend, who was ignoring her, but the princess became serious.

"Okay, tomorrow, Scorpion, you're coming with me to Earth," she said, "We're going to meet up with the others and see what they're doing."

Scorpion rolled his eyes, but didn't give any other indication of hearing her. However, Kitana took that as an answer and bade the two of them goodnight, before heading to bed and drifting off to sleep.

_-SKSKSKSKSKSKSK-_


	7. Arctika

Well, I guess I decided to finally update this story. I apologise for making you wait and I like to thank you for your patience and your reviews so far. So, here is the next chapter, which I do hope you enjoy after so long.

-SKSKSKSKSKSKSK-

Speaking the incantation, Sindel opened a large portal, as Scorpion fixed up his armguards, while Kitana was tying the final part of her long hair into a braid, before checking that she had her fans and with a nod to Scorpion, stepped through the portal, with the spectre joining her not a moment later, as the portal closed up, depositing them in Arctika. Scorpion looked around at the snow blanketing the entire area, before turning to the princess by his side.

"Why are we here?" he growled, "I thought Earth had an agency we could go to."

"They did," Kitana replied, "But the base was destroyed in an explosion and it's not like they've had time to fix it. This place is the back-up location; unfortunately, we're not allowed to put a receiver in the temple."

"This is where Sub Zero lives, isn't it?"

"Yeah. So? I'm sure you guys could get along this once, right?"

Scorpion grumbled under his breath and set off in the direction of Sub Zero's temple, with Kitana closely following after them. However, after about ten minutes of walking, a blizzard had started to form and greatly impair their vision. Scorpion growled under his breath, cursing the weather, but continued on anyway. Kitana tried her best to keep up with him, not wanting to lose sight of him in the blizzard. That's when her foot fell through a pile of snow and she let out a shriek of surprise, but before the hole could consume her, Scorpion was by her side in a flash and pulling her out of the snow. She shivered and stood close to him, enjoying the heat that was radiating off his body. To her surprise, Scorpion remained with her.

"You are so clumsy," the spectre growled, "And an idiot."

"Why's that?" Kitana demanded, not drawing back.

"You knew that the portal would place us here, yet you still insisted on wearing your skimpy outfit out here in the cold."

"Well, it's easier to move about and fight in this. Can't do that if I'm all rugged up."

"You're still an idiot."

"Yeah well, you're warm and I like it, so shut up."

"Don't tell me to shut up, woman," the spectre growled, "You're still an idiot."

"Whatever."

The blizzard was starting to come down harder, causing Kitana to shiver more. Scorpion stood closer to the princess in an effort to be a blocker to the blizzard, clasping his hands together and creating a small flame, holding it near Kitana's body to warm her up. Already, her shivering started to lessen, but Scorpion had to stop moving in order to keep the flame alive.

"Maybe we should get out of this blizzard," Kitana suggested.

At that moment, Scorpion was sent flying through the air, as Kitana whirled around to face a large snow monster. Its eight foot tall height easily dwarfed the princess, as it swung its basketball-sized paw. Kitana narrowly ducked and dived out of the way, rolling onto her feet, as Scorpion raised his hands, summoning a pillar of hellfire beneath the monster and setting it on fire. The monster roared in agony, before collapsing, the flames melting the snow around it, as Kitana turned to the spectre.

"Look out!" she cried.

Scorpion turned around, getting knocked down by a second snow monster, as Kitana drew her fans and hurled them straight into the monster's chest. It staggered back, moaning, as Kitana ran at it, ripping her fans away, then opening them and slicing upwards. The monster fell down, blood staining the snow and turning it pink, as Kitana folded up her fans and helped Scorpion to his feet.

"Nice one," he commented, "We should keep moving."

"Now you can see why I didn't rug up," Kitana said, shivering once more.

Scorpion rolled his eyes and decided to ignore her, as they trudged through the snow. Kitana was rubbing her arms feverously in an effort to keep warm, while Scorpion had no problems with the snow, although he did have to slow his pace down in order for the princess to keep up with him. Finally, he got annoyed and to her protests, he picked her up and strode through the snow, as if its depths didn't hinder him. Although Kitana had protested to his handling of her, she soon calmed down, giving in to the warmth of his body and curled up, trying to get as much heat as possible. Soon, the blizzard started to die down, prompting Scorpion to drop Kitana unceremoniously in the snow. She cursed and yelled at him, but he ignored her, as they soon reached the Lin Kuei temple. However, there weren't any guards to be seen, as the pair slowly entered the temple. There was no one in sight, but that didn't stop the pair from being cautious in the temple. They came out into the foyer, as two Lin Kuei ninjas suddenly dropped down from the ceiling. One swung at Scorpion, but he blocked and drove his fist into the ninja's jaw, while turning around and kicking the second ninja square in the jaw. The ninjas fell unconscious, as Kitana glared.

"Dammit, Scorpion, why did you have to do that for?"

"Because it was enjoyable."

Kitana rolled her eyes with a huff and stormed past Scorpion, heading up the stairs to where she knew Sub Zero's office would be. She reached the second office, as a ninja appeared, drawing his fist back to strike, but Kitana held up her hands.

"I'm here to see Sub Zero. I'm a friend of his. Princess Kitana."

The ninja lowered his fist, "The Grandmaster said you would be here. He's this way."

Kitana noticed that Scorpion wasn't with her, but ignored that as she followed after the young ninja. He led her up another flight of stairs and came to a set of large doors, before opening them wide and revealing a conference room, where the cryomancer Sub Zero was, alongside his second-in-command, the demoness, Sareena.

"Kitana?" Sub Zero said in surprise, "You're early."

Kitana was puzzled by this, "Early?"

"I take it you missed the memo then. Well, you're here at least and that's a good thing. By the way, have you met Sareena, my second-in-command?"

"He only says that because it embarrasses him to say partner in public," Sareena said, glaring at the Grandmaster, "Nice to meet you," she said to Kitana.

Though it was hard to see, Kitana could have sworn that she saw Sub Zero blush under his mask when Sareena said 'partner'. She found it amusing.

"So, when's everyone getting here?" Kitana asked.

Sub Zero was about to reply, when there was a flash of flames and a sword impaled his desk, just narrowly missing his hand. Without missing a beat, Sub Zero created a massive sword out of ice and swung it at Scorpion, who brought his sword up to block the blow. Kitana was about to intervene and drag Scorpion away, when Sareena stopped her.

"Let them go for a minute. He's been cooped up here, a fight will do him some good."

Kitana sighed and reluctantly stepped back, as Sub Zero and Scorpion continued their fight. A couple of times, the princess and demoness had to step out of the way of the warring ninjas, as ice projectiles, hellfire, profanity and obscenities flew across the room. Scorpion and Sub Zero clashed their swords together, glaring at each other with hatred, as the door swung open and a ninja walked in.

"Grandmaster, some visitors here to see you."

"Send them in," Sub Zero replied, without looking away from the spectre.

The ninja bowed and left the room, closing the door, as Kitana stepped forward."Okay, boys, enough with the testosterone. So, back off from each other."

Reluctantly, Sub Zero and Scorpion stepped back, with the latter sheathing his sword, while the former melted his sword down to nothing but air, then turned to the princess and the demoness.

"Apologies, but that did feel better."

"Told you," Sareena smiled at the princess.

"One of these days, we will have our fight," Scorpion growled.

He was leaning up against the wall, arms crossed over his chest and glaring at his rival, who simply rolled his eyes.

"Ignore him," Kitana said, "He's been angsty all week."

"I have not, woman!"

"Yeah right you haven't. Moody and brooding for the past four weeks."

"No, he's always like that," Sub Zero said.

"Well, worse than that," Kitana said.

"Woman!"

At that moment, the door opened and Earth's greatest fighters walked in. First was Johnny Cage, then Jax and Sonya, a completely healed Kenshi, the mysterious Ermac, the cybernetic Cyrax, Jade, Sindel, Kung Lao, Bo'Rai'Cho, the gods Fujin and Raiden and then finally, Liu Kang. Scorpion noticed how Kitana's face lit up when she saw the Champion of Mortal Kombat in the flesh, no longer a zombie or a ghost, seeing as how he had been fully resurrected. She ran to the warrior and threw herself into his arms, as he joyfully hugged her back.

The spectre felt something in his chest that he had never felt before upon watching the princess' happy reaction to the Champion. He didn't know what it was, but once he figured it out, he couldn't believe it. He was feeling jealousy. It was impossible for a creature like him and yet, he was feeling it all the same. Right then and there, he wanted to have the princess to smile at him like she was right now. He wanted to have her throwing herself at him in happiness.

But he knew that would never happen and he knew he could live with it.

-SKSKSKSKSKSKSK-


	8. The Proposal

-SKSKSKSKSKSKSK-

"Okay, so how do we go up against the Dragon King?" Sonya asked, "The guy is invincible. And he can resurrect the dead."

"He's not all that invincible," Raiden growled, "If we can destroy the Kamidogus, we will severely weaken him. And then we'll strike."

"What are the Kamidogus?" Johnny asked.

"They are relics that infuse Onaga with his power," Fujin replied, "When they were collected, he used them to regain his power and be reborn."

"He would have them hidden," Jax said, "He knows how important they are to him, so he couldn't have them nearby."

"Are they easy to destroy?" Kitana asked.

She was sitting on the couch with Liu Kang, her hand in his. Everyone else were standing around the room, though Sub Zero was sitting at his desk, with Sareena sitting on the desk beside him. Scorpion was leaning against the far wall, arm crossed over his chest and head bowed. He was glaring at Liu Kang, though it was impossible to tell due to the complete whiteness of his eyes.

"Yes, if we can find them," Raiden replied.

Scorpion looked at the Thunder God. He had witnessed Raiden's sacrifice and subsequent transformation into this darker, ruthless character. One of the submissions given to him by the Elder Gods was to prevent Raiden from doing anything rash and therefore slipping into further darkness and therefore, keep the warrior Shujinko away. Scorpion had scoffed, believing that the old fool should be killed for bringing Onaga back to life, whether he was deceived or not. Shujinko still had been a fool, but Scorpion had agreed, wanting nothing more than to see his clan alive once again.

"So, who gets to be the one to face Onaga?" Johnny asked, "Liu, you keen?"

"As Champion of Earth, it would be my duty," Liu Kang said, "I would gladly fight against Onaga."

"Yes, Champion of Earth," Scorpion said, "But not Champion of the Elder Gods."

"You have something to say, Scorpion?" Liu Kang asked, getting up.

"Yes and that is you won't be fighting Onaga," the spectre replied, pushing off the wall and storming over to the fighter, "You go up against him and you'll die. Again. And you won't be coming back. It is my duty to fight Onaga and kill him. I'm the only one here who can."

"As I understand, didn't you try to fight him and lose?" Sindel asked.

"That was before I knew about the Kamidogus," Scorpion replied, glaring at Raiden, "The idiot Elder Gods forgot to mention that little detail, didn't they?"

"And how can we trust you to fight him for us?" Liu Kang asked, "How do we know that you won't turn on us at the last minute?"

"He wouldn't," Kitana spoke up, "He has no reason to."

"What makes you say that?" Liu Kang asked, whirling around to face her.

"I'm not at liberty to say, but Scorpion won't turn on us. I trust him."

"Well, if Kitana trusts him, that's good enough for me," Jade said.

Liu Kang stared the princess, before sighing and turning to the spectre.

"Very well, I'll let you fight him. But I'll be your back-up."

"I won't be needing it," Scorpion said, "You just worry about the Kamidogus."

"So, how are we going to find the Kamidogus?" Sub Zero asked.

"I could do some recon in the Netherrealm," Sareena suggested, "See if I can find out anything down there."

"You'll have to hurry," Raiden said, "Time is of importance here."

"How about this?" Sonya suggested, "While Sareena is in the Netherrealm, the rest of us will attack Onaga's stronghold, try to keep him busy."

"I'll be consulting with the Elder Gods," Fujin said, "See if I can locate them as well."

"You know that Onaga will have an army of Tarkatans, right?" Scorpion said.

"We can handle Tarkatans," Sonya said.

Scorpion scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Yes, well, just don't die again, that's all. Because if anyone of you dies, Onaga will use your body as a personal slave."

"Yes, we know that already," Kung Lao said, "That was an experience I hope I'll never go through again."

"Simple. Just don't die."

Scorpion pushed off from the wall and left the room. The room was silent for a few moments after his departure, until the blind swordsman, Kenshi, spoke up.

"When would we be leaving?"

"We'll move out tomorrow," Liu Kang said, "I think it's best that we rest properly before going out into battle."

"I believe some of you have rooms," Sub Zero, "As for the others, a few students will show you around. I'm going with Sareena."

"Well, aren't you a protective sweetheart?" Sareena smiled.

"Someone has to watch your back," the cryomancer said with a faint blush.

"Will that be one of your wedding vows?"

"What?" Johnny cried, "Subby, you're getting married and you didn't tell us? That settles it. If we survive, we're throwing you a party."

"Thank you dear," Sub Zero muttered under his breath towards the demoness.

She simply blew him a kiss. Once the meeting was over, everyone dispersed, with Fujin and Raiden teleporting back to the Heavens, while Sareena opened a portal to the Netherrealm and stepped through with Sub Zero in tow, while telling him ideas of what she wanted for a wedding. Sub Zero had his head bowed as he followed after his partner through the portal. Kitana smiled to herself, before leaving with Liu Kang. They walked along the corridors together, hand in hand, in comfortable silence with each other. Kitana was happy to see that he was alive once again. It meant that they had a second chance with each other. It was the same for Liu Kang. He was glad that she was alive and not under a spell and her happiness was rubbing off on him. With their deaths and resurrection still stuck in his memory, it made him think about the future and what he wanted to do with it and he realised that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Kitana by his side.

"Kitana, there's something I want to tell you," Liu Kang said.

"What's wrong?" Kitana asked, worry in her eyes.

"No, it's nothing bad. I was just thinking about our lives and our future. Look, we both died recently and we were lucky to be resurrected. But, what if we to die again? I don't want to die with regrets. You understand what I'm saying, Kitana?"

Kitana nodded. It was what she had been thinking about as well.

"What I'm trying to say is that I love you, Kitana," Liu Kang said, "And while I did turn down your offer a few years back and while I thought it was for the best, I regretted it. I don't want that to happen again."

"So, you're saying that you _do_ want to get married still?"

Liu Kang nodded and clasped her left hand in his strong hands, before getting down on one knee and looking up into the princess' adoring and loving eyes.

"Princess Kitana, do you wish to be my wife?"

"Of course I do, Liu. Yes, I do want to marry you."

Liu Kang smiled and rose up to kiss Kitana on the lips. They savoured the taste of each other's lips, but their kiss was interrupted when Kung Lao arrived.

"Uh…Liu…would you like to train with me? Once you've parted."

"Sure, Lao, it's no problem," Liu Kang said, "I've got something to tell you."

The two friends headed towards the training grounds together, as Kitana smiled to herself, before heading off towards her quarters. Once there, she put on her warm, blue winter coat with a white fur trim. It was a gift to her from Sub Zero and seeing as how Edenia barely got freezing, she left it at his temple for when she visited. From there, she then headed outside onto her balcony, leaning on the railing and staring at the sky as it darkened.

"Nice view, huh?" said a deep voice.

Kitana whirled around to see Scorpion standing before her. He wasn't wearing his mask and had assumed his human face, arms crossed over his chest.

"I heard about your proposal. Congratulations," Scorpion said, although he didn't exactly sound very sincere.

"Uh thanks," Kitana said, "I'll give you an invite to the wedding, if you like."

"No, don't bother. I won't be attending. But at least you guys are getting your chance, if you survive. That's good for you."

"Scorpion, are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine," the spectre snapped, "Never better. Well, I hope you and Liu Kang make it, for both your sakes."

"Yeah, me too."

Scorpion didn't reply. Instead, he looked out at the darkening horizon, before turning and heading back inside the temple. Drawing the coat tighter around her body, Kitana stared out at the snow, thoughts running through her mind.

-SKSKSKSKSKSKSK-


	9. The Next Go Round

-SKSKSKSKSKSKSK-

At the crack of dawn, Scorpion left his room and headed out into the training grounds. Several Lin Kuei members were already there, going through their training session. The spectre took up a position away from his rival's clan and went through his own session, slow at first to warm up, then moving faster, punching and kicking the air as he went over everything that he had learnt in his entire lifespan. He needed to be on top of his game if he expected to have a chance to defeat the Dragon King.

Kitana woke up to shouts and roars. Getting up from the bed and leaving Liu Kang still sleeping, she went out onto the balcony, tying up her robe, watching as the Lin Kuei carried out their training session. Then, she caught sight of Scorpion practicing his kata. He was very focused and dedicated, barely making any mistakes, as his moves flowed smoothly and effortlessly into one another. In a way, he reminded her of Liu Kang and how he was dedicated to his martial arts and protecting the world. Looking back at her fiancée, Kitana smiled, but the smile faded when she thought about how strangely Scorpion was acting. She was soon brought out of her reverie when the spectre in question suddenly yelled out.

"Lin Kuei! Do you want a bit of a challenge?" Scorpion shouted, "If you do, then come and fight me. I dare you!"

The Lin Kuei spoke amongst themselves, before accepting Scorpion's challenge. Kitana watched as one ninja approached Scorpion and was swiftly taken down. Another ninja had a go, but he too, went down. Then, the Lin Kuei started to attack in pairs and threes, surrounding the spectre, as he fought against them. Kitana was impressed to see that he was holding his own really well, even if he did get struck several times. The Lin Kuei were performing beams of ice, taught to them by Sub Zero, but they had no effect against Scorpion, as he summoned hellfire to melt the ice. Just then, two arms slid around Kitana's waist, as a warm breath tickled her ear.

"Enjoying the show?" Liu Kang asked.

"He is quite impressive," Kitana said, "Maybe he can defeat Onaga."

"Hey, you're hurting my ego a little here."

"Sorry, darling. When are we heading out anyway?"

"Well, I think when Raiden gets here. He can teleport us there."

"What about a portal? We must be able to. We can portal out."

"Why are you in such a hurry?"

Kitana turned around in Liu Kang's arms to face him fully.

"I want this over and done with so the only thing to worry about is our wedding."

"I agree with you. I'll wake everyone up and then we'll leave, okay?"

Liu Kang kissed her cheek and walked away, as Kitana turned back to the training grounds, seeing that Scorpion had bested those who had challenge him. The spectre walked off, apparently in a huff over the lack of a challenge. After he left the grounds, Kitana headed back into her room to get changed.

-SKSKSKSKSKSKSK-

The portal opened up, depositing Sub Zero and Sareena into the room, where everyone else, minus the two gods, were waiting, all fully dressed and prepared to head out and battle against the Dragon King.

"So, how was the trip?" Johnny asked, "Get things sorted out for the wedding?"

"Shut up, you idiot," Sub Zero growled, "Not really, but we did find out about the Kamidogus. Apparently, there's six and Onaga has them at his stronghold, although he has them locked away and kept well guarded."

"How did you find all this out?" Sonya asked.

"I…er…we uh…" the cryomancer trailed off.

"We tortured Noob Saibot," Sareena said, "First we had to beat him into submission, which wasn't easy and then we tortured him for information."

"And how do you know his info is legit?"

"Well, I did threaten to remove a certain part of his anatomy."

"So, does that mean we can go there now?" Jax asked, "I'm itching for a fight."

Scorpion, in his usual place, rolled his eyes at the soldier's comment.

"Yep, once we get this portal open," Sindel replied, "Raiden will join us, right?"

"Yes, I believe he'll be there," Liu Kang said, "So, the plan is that once we fight past the Tarkatans, everyone will search for the Kamidogus, while Scorpion and I battle against Onaga, right?"

Sub Zero simply shrugged.

"Sounds like a plan to me. Let's go."

A large orange portal opened up in the middle of the conference room. Sindel was the first one to go through, as everyone else followed after her, with Scorpion being the last person to enter the portal, as it closed up behind him.

"Well, I hope we're all ready," Johnny said, "Though I'm wishing I brought that fine bottle of tequila with me."

They were all in Outworld, standing outside Onaga's stronghold, the massive walls looming before them. Sub Zero stepped forth and placed his hands against the steel gate, coating it in ice, before delivering a punch that shattered the ice, taking the entire gate with it. The group headed into the battleground, as the opposite gate opened and a force of Tarkatans came out, led by Baraka, as Onaga flew down onto the wall. Flanking him were Reiko, Mileena and a revived Tanya. Kitana growled under her breath when she saw the Edenian traitor and mentally slapped herself, seeing as how she should have known that Tanya would have been resurrected.

"How nice of you to finally join us," Onaga said, "You'll forgive me if Motaro isn't here to join us. He had a bad case of being a paste and can't be revived."

"We're offering you a choice," Liu Kang said, "If you stand down, then no-one here has to die. But if you refuse, then we will destroy you."

"If I stand down, no one will die? That defeats the purpose. I want to see people die," the Dragon King growled, "Baraka, will you do the honours?"

"Baraka will kill them!" the Tarkatan leader snarled, "Shred them to pieces!"

"Now, if you excuse me, I have things I need to tend to," Onaga said.

He flew back to his keep, as Mileena, Tanya and Reiko also left. Baraka snarled, his blades shooting out of his forearms, as the Tarkatans did the same, before letting out a massive battle cry and charging at the forces of good.

"Okay, try not to die anyone," Scorpion growled.

"That's real comforting," Sub Zero muttered.

He put his hand to the ground, creating a massive wall of ice that the Tarkatans ran into, bouncing off once their heads connected and falling back into each other. Those at the front were instantly knocked unconscious, while those at the back managed to stop their charge in time, before running around the sides of the wall to engage in battle with the forces of good.

Blood splattered in the dirt, as Tarkatans fell, their lacerated and dismembered bodies becoming the only things that kissed the ground. Jax's submachine gun rang out, pumping bullets into the Tarkatans, as Sub Zero stepped behind a Tarkatan and grasped his head, then yanked hard, tearing the Tarkatan's head off with the spine still attached. The body quivered and flopped about, as Sub Zero hurled the severed head at another Tarkatan. Scorpion parried a Tarkatan's blade and stabbed, causing the Tarkatan to choke with the sword going through its throat. Kitana sliced upwards with her fans, dropping the disembowelled Tarkatan to the ground, as Kung Lao threw his bladed hat, decapitating a Tarkatan.

Just then, bolts of lightning rained down, electrocuting any remaining Tarkatan, including those who had been knocked unconscious by the wall of ice, as Raiden appeared, lightning coursing across his body. Gusts of wind whipped out, throwing Tarkatans and dust around, as Fujin appeared, joining his predecessor.

"You started the show without us," the God of Wind said.

"Yeah, well, we were getting bored," Johnny replied, "Shall we keep going?"

"Indeed," Raiden replied, "We must stop Onaga from utilizing the power of the Kamidogus. If he manages to merge with them, he will be unstoppable."

"If he hasn't already," the former actor muttered.

"He hasn't," Fujin said, "We don't know why, but he hasn't yet."

"So why are we standing around, having a chat and tea?" Scorpion growled, "We have to stop Onaga and we're doing that now."

Sheathing his sword, he stormed off towards the stronghold, as everyone watched him go.

"You know, for a cranky spectre, he has a point," Kung Lao said, "Let's go."

"We'll split up once we enter," Liu Kang said, "But we'll go in pairs."

The forces of light hurried after the cranky spectre, joining him when he entered the stronghold. From there, they split up in search of the Kamidogus, while Liu Kang and Scorpion set off together towards the Dragon King's chambers.

"I hope you don't chicken out," Scorpion said, "With a wedding and all."

"How did you know about that?" Liu Kang asked.

"Ninja, remember. So yeah, don't chicken out, is all I'm saying."

"Don't worry, Scorpion, I won't"

"Good."

-SKSKSKSKSKSKSK-


	10. Broken Goods

-SKSKSKSKSKSKSK-

Kitana and Jade headed out a corridor together, as the former kicked open a door and set off down the small ramp, entering a large room that could only be described as the torture room. Hundreds of torturing tools hung on the walls, while organs and other body parts were piled up in the corner, the foul stench of their decay filling the room. The two Edenians gagged, but walked through to the opposite door, opening it and entering a smaller room. One wall was completely covered in outward pointing spikes, while a table sat against the far wall and resting on top was one of the Kamidogus. Kitana smiled as she reached for it.

"I wouldn't do that, sister."

The princess whirled around to face her twin, who was standing in the doorway with Tanya by her side. Mileena smiled as she stepped inside, closing the door behind her.

"I thought that after last time, you wouldn't be back here so soon," Mileena said, "But no matter. At least now I have the chance to kill you and finally take the throne."

"What chance?" Kitana said, "You're no match for me and we know it."

"Well, that's what you like to think, sister. But let's find out. Tanya, you want to do away with the green one? My sister and I have a score to settle."

"Sister? I think I've hit you in the head one too many times, Mileena," Kitana said, "You and I aren't sisters."

"Bitch!"

In annoyance, Mileena flicked out a sai and threw it at Kitana's head. The princess dodged it, before hurling one of her fans, which her clone dodged, then quickly ran in, driving her fist into Mileena's jaw. Incensed, Mileena struck her sister, then booted her in the stomach. Kitana dived under her sister's sai, picking up her fallen fan and whirling around, but Mileena was already on the other side, pulling her thrown sai out of the wall, before spinning her weapons around in her hands.

Kitana and Mileena lunged at each other, slashing with their weapons as they clanged off each other. Spinning around, Kitana slashed downwards, but Mileena slipped through the floor, before falling down from the air with a kick. Blocking and holding her in the air, Kitana leapt up with a punch, however, Mileena slammed her fists overhead, knocking Kitana to the ground. Landing, Mileena curled up into a ball and rolled along the floor, striking her sister in the legs and knocking her over, then raising her hands and firing two energy sais. Kitana dodged them, hurling her fans. They were knocked aside, but then Kitana disappeared in a puff of blue smoke, picking up her fans and slashing at her sister. Mileena narrowly dodged the blades and brought her sais around to counter the fans. The sisters continued duelling around the room, whereas Jade had managed to defeat Tanya by shoving her onto the spiked wall and went to help Kitana, but the princess stopped her.

"No! Destroy the Kamidogu. I can handle her."

"Don't touch it!" Mileena cried, lunging for Jade.

Kitana lunged, tackling her sister and hurling her against the wall, stunning her. Mileena pushed off the wall and slashed, but in her stunned state, she didn't realise what was happening until too late: Kitana had dodged the sai and slashed her across the abdomen. Blood flowed heavily from the deep wound, as Mileena looked up at her sister in anger, then collapsed on the floor.

"Okay, let's deal with this Kamidogu," Kitana said, joining her friend.

However, at that moment, Mileena rose up behind them, stabbing one sai in Jade's right shoulder and the other in Kitana's left shoulder. The two Edenians cried out, as Mileena removed her sais and unsteadily staggered back.

"It's not over, Kitana," she said crazily, "It's not over until you're dead!"

-SKSKSKSKSKSKSK-

"This is the way?" Liu Kang asked.

"Sure is," Scorpion said, "Stop being so fidgety. You're making me nervous."

"I'm not fidgeting, I'm checking our surroundings. Don't want to be surprised."

"We won't be surprised. Onaga would want to kill us himself. And we're here."

Liu Kang looked up at the large doors before them, as Scorpion shoved them open and punched a lunging Hotaru in the jaw, knocking the Seidon guard down. Hotaru groaned, but then Scorpion stomped on the back on his neck, crushing it, before looking over at the Dragon King, who had watched it with an amused smile.

"Ah, Scorpion, so you're back again. Looking for another beating? Oh and look at who you brought this time. The famous Liu Kang."

"I'm offering you to stand down, Onaga," Liu Kang said, "We don't have to fight, but we will if we must."

"Very well then. Baraka!"

Liu Kang and Scorpion heard a growl and dived out of the way just in time to avoid Baraka's attempt at decapitating them. The two warriors got to their feet and whirled around, but then Scorpion stepped back.

"You can take him. I'm dealing with Dragon Face here."

"Yeah, thanks, no worries," Liu Kang muttered.

"So, you wish for another fight, Scorpion?" Onaga asked, "Very well, I can give you another one. But be warned, I will get bored very quickly."

"Well, I think you'll find that this won't be boring."

"Baraka will eat you alive," the Tarkatan leader growled, waving his blades.

"Fine then," Liu Kang said, before swinging his fist, "Eat this!"

His fist slammed into Baraka's mouth, breaking off a few fangs, drops of blood floating through the air. Before the broken fangs and blood were even anywhere near the ground, Liu Kang drove his other fist into Baraka's ribs, smiling when he heard a crack or three, then launched a spinning kick into Baraka's sternum, throwing the Tarkatan back through the air. He struck the wall with a groan and fell to the ground, before looking up with a snarl and lunging at the Shaolin warrior.

Meanwhile, Scorpion was swinging his arms back and forth, trying to loosen up his muscles, as Onaga rose up from his throne, spreading out his vast wings and folding them again, before stepping down before the spectre. A word wasn't spoken between them when the first punch was thrown. Scorpion staggered back, narrowly dodging the second blow, then swung his own fist, striking Onaga on the jaw. The blow barely fazed the Dragon King, but he did roar and grabbed Scorpion by the throat, before hurling him across the room to slam into the wall. Scorpion landed on his feet and glared, then disappeared in a flash of flames. A fist ploughed into Onaga's right cheek, as Scorpion reappeared in front of him, swinging his fist into an uppercut and landing squarely on Onaga's jaw. The blow staggered the Dragon King, but he regained his stance in time to casually bat the leaping spectre aside.

"You are very foolish in attempting to fight me again," Onaga grumbled, "You lost the last time. Why try again?"

Scorpion didn't reply as he got to his feet. Instead, he got to his feet and drew the Mugai Ryu, then lunging, slashing with the sword and leaving a crimson streak on the Dragon King's chest. Enraged at having his blood drawn, Onaga slammed his fist into Scorpion's head and swung his other fist, but Scorpion drove his sword upwards, straight through Onaga's wrist. The Dragon King snarled, driving his fist into the spectre's stomach, then struck him in the chest, gouging out a chunk of flesh. Scorpion staggered back, as Onaga whipped his tail around, striking Scorpion in the face and knocking his mask off to reveal his flaming skull. Growling, Scorpion unleashed a stream of flames from his mouth.

"Let me show you how it's really done," Onaga laughed.

He unleashed a blast of flames from his mouth, setting Scorpion on fire. However, the spectre stood still, before calmly walking out of the flames, his empty sockets raised in amusement. Growling, Onaga struck him, knocking him down, then kicking him across the room. Meanwhile, Liu Kang had finally knocked Baraka unconscious with nothing more than a cut on his left arm and upon seeing Scorpion get kicked into the opposite wall, he ran at Onaga, before launching into his infamous flying kick. The blow staggered Onaga, as Liu Kang went to attack with another kick, but Onaga caught his leg in one hand and grinned sinisterly.

"Let's do something about this, shall we?"

There was a sickening crack, followed a split second later by Liu Kang's scream of pain, as Onaga tossed him to the ground, his leg bent at a wrong angle. Liu Kang cried and tried to calm his breath as he clutched at his broken leg, while Onaga grinned.

-SKSKSKSKSKSKSK-

Mileena finally fell with a fan sticking out of her chest. Breathing heavily, Kitana retrieved the fan, blood covering her body, as Jade picked up the Kamidogu and looked at it thoughtfully, as if wondering how to destroy it. In the end, she simply threw it at the ground and smiled as it shattered into a thousand pieces.

"That should do it," Jade grinned.

-SKSKSKSKSKSKSK-


	11. Eruption

-SKSKSKSKSKSKSK-

"What's going on?" Onaga demanded, looking at his hands.

The wounds that he had been inflicted by the spectre were now healed, but now he could feel that something was wrong. Closing his eyes, Onaga tried to figure out what was wrong with him, not made easy by the fact that Liu Kang was still whimpering nearby. Ignoring him, Onaga focused his energies, before discovering the problem: the Kamidogus were being destroyed. And with each destruction of a relic, he was losing power. When the last one was shattered by Sub Zero and Sareena, he felt his power slip away. Sure, he still had enough strength to defeat anyone who faced him, but he was no longer invincible and more prone to lasting damage. Growling under his breath, Onaga promised himself that he would not be defeated.

Scorpion got to his feet, shaking his skull, as the flames burned brightly, before he turned to Onaga and threw his trademark kunai. It stabbed into Onaga's chest, as Scorpion grinned and wrapped the cord around his forearm.

"Get the fuck over here, bitch!"

Yanking on the wire, Scorpion managed to pull the Dragon King over to him, as his right hand was surrounded by a ball of flames and he drove his fist up into Onaga's jaw. The blow staggered the Dragon King, as Scorpion then performed a backflip kick with a trail of flames, before plunging his sword into Onaga's chest. Onaga growled, removing the sword and striking Scorpion in the face, before grabbed him by the back of his neck and lifted him up high above his head, before dropping the spectre over his knee. Scorpion cried out as the unbearable pain laced his back and he was tossed to the ground, unsure if he could get up again. Onaga picked him up again, holding him by the throat with one hand, before grabbing his skull with the other.

"Let's see what happens if I rip your head off," Onaga sneered.

At that moment, a bladed fan sliced across Onaga's wrists, causing him to drop Scorpion and roar at Kitana. However, she was heading towards Liu Kang, as Sub Zero shot a beam of ice at Onaga, forcing him away from Scorpion. Kitana fell beside Liu Kang, pain on her face when she saw his broken leg.

"We have to get him out of here," she said to Sonya.

As Onaga stormed towards Sub Zero, he was struck in the back by a lightning bolt and he whirled around to face Raiden, grinning when he saw the Thunder God. Raiden flew at him, tackling him around the waist and driving him back until they struck the far wall. Raiden bounced off Onaga and kicked him in the face. Growling, Onaga drove his fist into Raiden's face just as he was descending, throwing him through the air. He peeled himself off the wall to notice that the rest of the warriors were now entering the room, all standing together in a group and ready to fight.

"You took down everyone I had?" Onaga growled

"Please, they were so easy," Jade said, "And now, you're next."

Onaga jumped and when he landed, he created a large shockwave that cracked the floor and knocked everyone off their feet. As they fell, he breathed a massive ball of fire over them, destroying the door, as Raiden got up and fired a bolt of lightning. Onaga responded with a blast of fire and the resulting explosion smashed all the windows in the room, while also taking out a wall. The others got up, having been protected from the flames by the sudden arrival of Fujin, who had created a shield of wind and now he was helping the others to their feet.

"We must leave," he said.

"What are you talking about?" Johnny asked, "We came here to fight Onaga."

"The spectre is the only one who can defeat him. You'll only get in his way. It's the Elder God's wish. Now come on."

He began herding them towards the broken door, as Jax joined Kitana and gently picked up Liu Kang, before following after the others. Kitana watched them go, before looking over at the battle raging between Onaga, Raiden, Sub Zero and Scorpion. She contemplated leaving with the others, but instead, she got to her feet and raced into the fight, leaping up to deliver four swift kicks to Onaga's torso, staggering him. He growled and backhanded her, knocking her into the air, but Scorpion caught her as she fell and placed her on her feet.

"What the hell are you doing here?" the spectre growled, "You should go."

"Yeah, like I'm going to leave you guys behind to get killed?" Kitana said.

"We can handle it. Now get out of here."

"No!"

Kitana pushed away from Scorpion and headed towards Onaga, who was defending against Raiden's attacks, before striking the Thunder God and catching Sub Zero's sword in one hand, before crushing it to pieces, then punching the cryomancer. Kitana sliced with her fans and ducked under Onaga's fist, slashing into his flank, but then he struck her, sending her sprawling, as Scorpion slashed with his sword. Dodging the blade, Onaga kicked Scorpion in the stomach, then unclipped Shinnok's amulet from his belt and raising it high above his head.

"Your friends won't be going very far," he growled.

The amulet glowed bright green, sending out a wave of energy that washed over the entire room briefly. Onaga chuckled as he clipped the amulet back on his belt, while Raiden headed over to the broken windows, watching as the deceased Tarkatans slowly got to their feet, before letting out a simultaneous roar and rushing towards the stronghold. Turning around, Raiden fired lightning at the Dragon King, who took the blast, as Sub Zero slashed with a new sword. Onaga backhanded him into a wall and the cryomancer didn't move again, as Scorpion and Kitana moved in at the same time. Together, they attacked the Dragon King, moving in perfect synchronism as they traded positions with each other to keep up their assault.

Scorpion stepped to his right while slashing downwards, while Kitana came in from Scorpion's left, slicing upwards with both fans, then whirling around and slashing horizontally, stepping to her left as Scorpion spun around and impaled Onaga just below the throat. The Dragon King gagged, as the spectre removed his sword and went to strike again, but Onaga grabbed him by the throat and tossed him into Kitana, knocking them down, as Raiden unleashed a blast of lightning, which was immediately countered by a ball of fire from Onaga. Another explosion rang out, as Scorpion got to his feet, before helping Kitana up, as she went to check on Sub Zero. Meanwhile, Onaga and Raiden were fighting still, until the former swept his wings, brushing the Thunder God back with the force and lunging forward and punching him in the face, knocking him down, before holding him up by his head, preparing to break his neck, but a kick in the back from Scorpion stopped him. Whirling around, Onaga backhanded Scorpion, who flipped over in mid-air and landed on his feet.

"Even without the Kamidogus, I still possess enough power to destroy you all," Onaga growled, "Are you trying to prolong the inevitable?"

"Indeed, because the inevitable here is that you die," Scorpion growled, his flames burning brightly.

He charged at the Dragon King and lunged, but Onaga batted him through the air. However, Scorpion threw his kunai, hooking Onaga in the chest and pulling himself towards the Dragon King. With a small burst of hellfire, Scorpion flew faster through the air, hands outstretched as he slammed into Onaga, ripping through his torso and coming out through his back while caked in blood, bone and gore. Onaga barely made a sound as he fell to his knees and he looked down at the massive hole in his body. Scorpion grinned at his handiwork, as Onaga started convulsing, his body glowing as he began screaming in agony.

"Take cover, he's going to blow!" Raiden shouted.

He created a shield of lightning around himself, while Scorpion lunged for Kitana, covering her body with his, as a now conscious Sub Zero created a wall of ice. Onaga's body exploded in a shower of gore, body parts flying around the room and landing with a thick splat, while the energy released in the explosion ripped throughout the entire stronghold, erupting the furnace in the basement, which in turn, went through its own chain reaction, before exploding, the first of the fireballs erupting through the upper floors and in particular, destroying the resurrected Tarkatan army. As the stronghold began to crumble inwardly, the forces of light quickly made their escape, while in the throne room, Scorpion detached himself from Kitana, as Raiden and Sub Zero lowered their shields, although they were both quite shaken

"I think it's time we left this place before it completely falls apart," Raiden said.

"I'm with you on that one," Sub Zero said.

He was the first to leave the room with Raiden following after him. Scorpion helped Kitana to her feet, as she looked at him.

"Thank you," she said genuinely.

"Don't mention it," Scorpion growled, "Now let's get out of here."

Kitana nodded and ran for the broken door with Scorpion close behind her. However, the spectre stopped and turned around, seeing Shinnok's amulet lying on the broken floor. He ran to pick it up, knowing what would happen if it fell into the wrong hands. However, someone had already beaten him to it and kicked him in the chest.

"You!" Scorpion snarled.

"We meet once again," Quan Chi smirked.

-SKSKSKSKSKSKSK-


	12. Vengeance Sated

-SKSKSKSKSKSKSK-

Scorpion slammed into the wall, as green skull projectile slammed into his chest, pushing him further into the brick. Pushing away from the outline of his body, Scorpion lunged at the sorcerer, striking him in the jaw, as Quan Chi kneed him in the stomach, then punched him to the ground, before jumping onto his chest and stomping rapidly, breaking several ribs and forcing the spectre through the crumbling floor. They landed in another room with Quan Chi driving his knees into Scorpion's chest. The spectre groaned, as Quan Chi grinned sadistically, before getting up and grabbing Scorpion by the front of his armour, before plunging his fist straight through the spectre's chest, breaking another rib. Scorpion cried out, grabbing onto the sorcerer's wrist, before breathing a stream of flames onto his face. Quan Chi howled as he drew back, desperately trying to pat away the flames, as Scorpion got up and delivered a powerful kick to Quan Chi's groin area.

The flames were momentarily forgotten as Quan Chi fell to his knees in agony, clutching at his groin. Scorpion got to his feet and drove his fist upwards into Quan Chi's jaw, knocking him flat on his back. The sorcerer rolled away onto his feet, using Shinnok's amulet to wipe the flames away and heal his injuries, as Scorpion lunged, but was struck in the chest with a skull projectile and as he flew towards the ground, Quan Chi slid along the ground and kicked him in the back, flipping him over onto his face. Scorpion groaned, wondering why he was currently getting beaten and he realised that he had become tired following the fight with Onaga, whereas Quan Chi was fresh and ready and full of power, evident as Quan Chi lifted him up with magic, before slamming him into the crumbling ground, laughing as he repeated the action.

"Oh, it feels good to have the roles finally reversed," Quan Chi crowed, "It was a pain in the ass to wait for my powers to regrow, but it was finally worth it."

Scorpion got to his feet and threw his kunai, but Quan Chi caught the spear and yanked the spectre through the air, before striking him below the throat with his forearm, dropping him to the ground.

-SKSKSKSKSKSKSK-

Kitana looked over her shoulder and was surprised to see that Scorpion wasn't following them. Frowning, she stopped her running, as Raiden and Sub Zero continued, not noticing that the princess was chasing after them as they hurried to leave the stronghold that was falling to pieces around them. Wondering what had happened to the spectre, Kitana ran off towards the throne room, fans in hands as she reached the room and looked around, unable to see the spectre anywhere, before noticing the large hole in the floor. She dropped down, surprised to see Quan Chi currently whaling on the spectre.

She knew that the sorcerer was at full strength and that the last time she had fought Quan Chi, it had ended with her death. Nonetheless, she flicked open her fans and hurled one, impaling Quan Chi in the chest, causing him to stagger back in surprise, before ripping the fan out his chest and glare at Kitana as she ran at the sorcerer, before leaping up to deliver four swift kicks to his torso, knocking him away from Scorpion. Quan Chi rolled back onto his feet and launched a skull projectile, which struck Kitana and knocked her back.

"Eh, so you're here to save him, are you?" Quan Chi sneered, "How cute. I don't know why you bother. He only cares about himself."

"Yeah, unlike you, huh?" Kitana said sarcastically, "And for the record, he doesn't just care about himself."

"Oh, so you're telling me he cares about you?"

"Okay, maybe not care, but I trust him. I see him as a friend."

"How sweet," Quan Chi, "Then die with him!"

He fired another skull projectile, as Kitana sidestepped, as he ran at her, a pair of broadswords suddenly appearing in his hands and he lunged, swinging his swords, as Kitana stepped out of the way, slicing with her fans. Dodging the blades, Quan Chi brought his swords down overhead, but Kitana sliced upwards to deflect them, moving under the swords and slashing Quan Chi across the flank. He drove his elbow back into her face, making her stagger, then stabbed at her unprotected stomach. However, at the last moment, a Mugai Ryu intercepted Quan Chi's broadswords, as Scorpion then swung his leg into Quan Chi's stomach, winding him. Regaining her stance, Kitana was quick to follow up with a small backflip quick, then standing alongside Scorpion, as Quan Chi glared at the pair.

"Very well then," the sorcerer growled, "I can handle two you together."

He swung his swords, as Kitana and Scorpion worked in a tandem together, launching an assault on Quan Chi and forcing him to think up new tactics, while also protecting each other from his blades when he got too close to badly injuring one or the other. Although Scorpion had been badly beaten, he was regaining his strength thanks to Kitana's participation. He looked over at the princess and smiled to himself as she fought alongside, dodging and parrying, pulling off a variety of moves, until finally, Quan Chi threw down his swords in frustration.

"That's it! I've had enough. If I can't kill you in combat, then I'll have to kill you with sorcery!"

He raised his hands and the room they were in starting quaking once again. While the stronghold hadn't collapsed yet, Quan Chi was currently trying to make it happen. Pieces of mortar crumbled around them, as the walls started to collapse. The floor was breaking up and falling away, cracks running through the surface as holes opened up. Quan Chi laughed, as Scorpion threw his kunai, impaling the sorcerer's left arm. With a hard tug, Scorpion tore Quan Chi's arm off, spraying blood everywhere. Quan Chi howled, his remaining hand clutching at the bloody stump and almost instantly, the destruction stopped, as Scorpion threw his kunai again, this time, stabbing it into Quan Chi's right leg, then ripping the limb off. The sorcerer screamed, hopping around on one leg as blood flowed from both stumps. Scorpion walked over to him, but Quan Chi fired a skull projectile that blasted the spectre back, however, Kitana was by the sorcerer's side in a flash. Grabbing hold of Quan Chi's head in both hands, she wrenched hard, snapping the sorcerer's neck, before dropping his body to the ground. She looked over at the spectre, who was slowly getting to his feet.

At that moment, a large piece of ceiling above Kitana broke away, hurtling towards the unknowing princess. She heard a noise and looked up, seeing the ceiling falling towards her. At the last minute, Scorpion appeared before her, grabbing her in his arms and pulling her down to the ground, his body covering hers, as the ceiling came crashing down around them. Kitana was curled up in Scorpion's arms, her eyes squeezed shut, while he was hunched over her. Once the shaking stopped, she slowly opened her eyes, looking up into Scorpion's completely white eyes and she saw that he now had assumed his human face. She gave him a small smile, still curled up in his arms and she found that she quite enjoyed the feeling of his arms around her. They were powerful and strong, yet gentle at the same time.

"Thank you," she whispered to him.

She was so close to him. Her body was pressed up against his, her face just inches from his and her arms were around his neck. He looked down at the woman in his arms, feeling how close she was to him and he couldn't help but feel something inside, something more than his standard vengeance. Whatever it was, he felt something towards the Edenian princess, something more than the trust he shared with her. But could a creature like himself, an undead creature born of vengeance, feel more than just intense hatred? Could he have other emotions, long since thought forgotten? Apparently he could, since he had felt jealously when Liu Kang showed up at the Lin Kuei temple and Kitana had enthusiastically leapt into his arms. Could he make her do that? Could he bring her that joy and happiness? Could a spectre of vengeance even be capable of such a feat? But did he want to? He wasn't sure. Hell, he wasn't even sure if she felt the same towards him. She couldn't, seeing as she was now engaged to the Champion of Mortal Kombat.

Was he really leaning down towards her?

At that moment, he heard footsteps and reluctantly broke away from Kitana. When she gave him a questioning look, wondering what was exactly going on, he motioned for her to listen and she heard the footsteps as well. Upon hearing more than one set of feet, Kitana got to her feet, confusion running through her head over what Scorpion looked like he was about to do (was he really going to kiss me? she thought), assuming a defensive stance in case the footsteps belonged to the enemy. Scorpion resumed his flaming skull look, as Sub Zero and Kung Lao entered the demolished room.

"There you guys are," Sub Zero cried, "We thought we lost you."

"No, just finishing up some business," Scorpion said.

He started to leave the room, but before he did, he stopped by Quan Chi's body and picked up Shinnok's amulet, before slapping it against Sub Zero's chest.

"Here, look after that. Make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands."

And with that, Scorpion stormed from the stronghold, as Kitana watched him leave and she couldn't help but feel disappointed that he didn't kiss her.

-SKSKSKSKSKSKSK-


End file.
